Loss of Control (Action)

Heroic Action Role-Play

This is a Method for using Powers in Action. Methods are a part of Traditions and define how Powers are used in each campaign.

Loss of Control

You are channeling powers beyond your control: sometimes these powers take you over and forces you to do wild and destructive actions. You must specify the nature of the power you are connecting to, as this will influence how you focus and what happens when you lose control. In general, this amounts to a specific vice; focusing means tickling this vice, loss of control is when you are overwhelmed.

This might seem like a free lunch for an evil character, but when you lose control you are self-destructive, evil for the sake of evil, and generally go too far for whatever sensibilities your character has. Good characters get remorse and are hurt by the very fact that they have done evil; bad people go further when possessed, often hurting their own prospects.

Limitation

You risk losing control in certain situations, especially when doing things somehow relevant to the nature or source of your powers. The GM proposes an action your powers tries to force you to do. You can agree, and do the action but otherwise remain in control. If you resist, you lose access to your powers for the rest of the scene.

Focus Condition

Trigger Action (Focus)

When doing the type of actions you do when you lose control, you release a burst of energy, allowing you to focus. This can either be because because you choose to give in or because you lost control. This means you can always focus when you lose control, making you doubly dangerous at these times. When you are taking the initiative and choose to skirt the danger, you get to pick what kind of action to do, and you'll presumably not pick the worst imaginable ones. Still, you must be living out your vice, and the GM is the final judge on whether your action is extreme enough.